MacPara

MacPara

Well Known Member
I am not yet flying but got to complete the taxi tests a week ago. One of the things I did not like too much was that turning the strobes on resulted in an annoying chirp being induced into the intercom that followed the rhythm of the strobe firing.
My -12 has the floating wing connectors and I remember installing a capacitor to the strobe line when Van's came out with it a while ago. Did anybody else experience this problem? Did anybody find a fix for it?
 
noise

always use shielded wire on power supplies, ground the end closest to the source of power. So, I use 18 gauge on the lead from the breaker or switch to the power supply, grounded near the switch or breaker, then ground the shield from the strobe power supply to the lamps at the strobe power unit. Works great!

Gary Brown
[email protected]
 
Thanks Gary. My RV-12 is built as an ELSA, so I have no liberty to change what Van's has laid out for us. The wire for the strobes is not shielded and I was hoping others have found an easier fix than to string in a new wire after certification.
 
I hear some light interference from the strobe's during taxi. I don't notice it during flight. Standaard Van's wiring & capacitor. I use Clarity Aloft headsets.
 
You're right, Joeri, I should probably wait until I flew her. It will probably not be that noticeable with all the other noise around :).
 
MacPara said:
It will probably not be that noticeable with all the other noise around :).
Click to expand...

Taking your headset off during flight will solve your problem for sure ;-)
Almost ready for your big step! Good luck!

On your blog I saw you have some interference near the oil cooler.
Expect some more movement of the engine due to G-loading. I had no interference on the ground but saw some marks after a couple of flights.
 
Yes I have the same problem. It is quite noticeable at start up but you get used to it. It is something I would like to sort out at some stage but would need to get an answer from Vans or the forum.

I guess once you start flying places there is so many other items that have to be done so you can keep going.

Cheers

Julian 120316
 
I posted about the strobe interference problem on the Matronics AeroElectric-List. Here is an excerpt from Bob Nuckolls reply:
Noises from strobe systems heard on headphones and/or
transmitted signals are almost always conducted by
virtue of poor grounding choices for audio system
wiring and rarely, radiated noises from strobe tubes
Click to expand...
Bob wrote the book on aircraft wiring. Many home-built aircraft are wired according to one of his schematics.
My posting and Bob's full reply can be read here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=412638#412638
The most likely cause of strobe noise is locally grounded headset jacks. The shielded cable should ONLY be grounded at the instrument panel end.
Joe Gores
 
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Thanks Joe,

I will show this to my helpful mechanic and see if we can work it through.

Just a thought, as it does not look like everyone has this problem. I have the skyview conversion wiring set up. There is a lot of redundant wires and conversions in our planes. I thought we placed a filter in the system to sort this out.

Cheers Julian 120316
 
The LED strobes in the 12 should produce minimal interference with the heritage strobe systems using strobe tubes, that's one of the beauties of LEDs.
 
Hi Jerry,

I just got back from a late afternoon flight in our training area. Just magic after work. For the first time in two months no wind!

I checked the noise on the start up checks. The noise is not from the landing lights of which I have two. It is the operation of the wing strobes which causes the pulsing in the headsets.

Cheers

Julian 120316
 
I have the same issue wrt the strobes bleeding through the headset. My panel is non-standard with GRT glass, SL-30, PS100EX, and GTX327. My interphone system operates through the PS100EX.
 
strobe noise

As a DAR, I would have no problem issuing to one that has shielded wire in place of non shielded, that is pretty minor. Let me know you need a certificate of airworthiness if you are in the NW region.

Gary Brown
ATP A&P IA CFI DAR
[email protected]
 
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